Comparing Alice In Wonderland to Pan’s Labyrinth - The Reality of Reality
This paper serves as an analyzed comparative between the 2010 Tim Burton adaptation of Alice In Wonderland, and the 2006 Guillermo del Toro film, Pan's Labyrinth. Both films contain a young, bright minded and strong willed female antagonist. In these stories the young women are transported in one way or another to a realm of dream like proportion. Certain elements of anxiety, political unrest, and social pressures are present in each story. The parallel worlds that the young antagonists enter may be somewhat different, but the contributing factors for their discovery of these worlds are quite similar.
Alice In Wonderland is one of the world’s most familiar and beloved characters. What started as 19th century English children’s novel quickly became a staple in American culture. Two of the most well known adaptations of this tale are the 1951 Walt Disney presentation, and the 2010 Tim Burton adaptation. For this paper I will focus on the second. The original story centered on Alice as a young girl. The 2010 version of Alice In Wonderland portrays Alice as a young woman several years after her first journey to Wonderland. As such it can not really be viewed as a retelling, but rather a continuation of Alice’s story. In Alice In Wonderland (2010) the audience is introduced to a 19-year-old Alice, who very much stands out amongst her peers. She is energetic, free spirited, and a bit on the quirky side. Alice stands in resistance to the conformity that surrounds her. She is a shy but very curious young woman with an open mind and an easily distracted nature. The world that surrounds Alice is painted as washed out and rather dull. Alice is under tremendous pressure from her family, friends, and other associated people to give up her childish ways, get married, and conform to society’s standards. Alice has a desire to extend her childhood; she is not ready to be an adult. During the party for Alice and her fiance, a mischievous rabbit appears and leads Alice to the rabbit hole that she falls down in her pretty dress. She is taken to another world, a dreamlike state in which she encounters friends and foes and situations which cause her to grow, mature, strengthen her character, and learn how to navigate the world. Alice enters this world in a state of unconsciousness. Parallels can be drawn between the characters that Alice encounters in Wonderland and those that she is associated with in the human world. The environment in Wonderland is painted as dark and surreal, yet contrastingly vibrant and imaginative. It feels more real than the real world, which leaves viewers questioning whether this place really existed or not. However, the appearance of the white rabbit, a blue caterpillar, and a blue butterfly are elements that carry over from the parallel world as a means of convincing Alice and the viewer of the legitimacy of Wonderland. When Alice is young, she displays tendencies that could be associated with ADHD which is a disorder that has certain associations with forms of psychosis and schizophrenia. Research has proven that children with ADHD have an increased risk of developing other related conditions, most often the onset of psychosis or schizophrenia, brought on by overwhelming stress and anxiety, such as what Alice is enduring now. So it may be very possible that this Wonderland that she is experiencing is a manifestation serving as a coping mechanism. However, people with certain alternative brain structures are often thought by spiritual experts as being more in tune and that the so called veils between our universes are not up for them as they are for most others. So presenting both of these possibilities, we cannot, as the viewer determine if Wonderland really exists.
Similarly, Pan's Labyrinth is the story of a young girl, named Ofelia, who has to deal with transition and change as well. She has to move into a new home, and is expected to accept her mother's new husband as her new father. Just as Alice who encounters a rabbit, caterpillar, and butterfly as a sign, Ofelia also while on her journey encounters a insect like creature that she identifies as being a fairy. These are signs that merge the two worlds. This fairy follows Ofelia and lures her away to a fairy world. Ofelia is forced to wear a fancy dress, just as Alice did. Both girls destroy their dresses and all that the dress symbolizes, conformity and oppression. Ofelia has been given three very important missions by the faun. Ofelia has been given time constraints to defeat the pale man who sits at the long table with a feast, just as her mother’s new husband does. Alice also has three missions, to defeat the red queen, slay the jaeberwocky, and liberate her friends in Wonderland from the oppressive government. Metaphorically these are all of the oppressors that are bringing Alice down in her life, her family and society, which can be linked to the jaeberwocky as her family, the red queen as society, and wonderland is herself, that wishes to liberate. Alice is slaying Expectations, Defeating the status-quo and Liberating herself. Ofelia must also free herself.
There are many similarities between these two films. Strong girls take center stage. The audience is immediately endeared to these young ladies for their innocence and strength of spirit. Many themes run through these films, one very important theme is that of Time. In Pan's Labyrinth the captain is always checking his stopwatch and speaking of time. Ofelia also has to deal with time that is running out, time to complete her missions, time before the full moon, time before her mother has the baby, time before she must escape, time limitations for her to become a princess in her fairy kingdom. Time is also running out for Alice who is growing up. The rabbit let Alice know that she was late for a very important date. The Mad hatter sees her and says, it’s teatime, it's time to have tea. There is a running theme of social and government politics, as well as innate compulsion for these two girls to fulfill a higher purpose. In both situations, the girls face off against their oppressors. There is a coming of age type theme. Both young women approach a very troubled world with a very youthful, imaginative, wide-eyed child-like perspective. They both are in wonder. The events that occur throughout this story, lead the way for Ofelia to learn how to be responsible, make difficult decisions, and to put others before herself. The events that occur for both Ofelia and Alice help them each in their own way to cope with the dire circumstances and find ways to liberate themselves.
The similarities continue beyond the film itself, taking a step backward similarities can be seen involving the directors. The directors of these films have made certain element choices to tell these stories, using classic fairy tale elements, in a hallucinogenic, surreal, dreamlike state. Within the visual elements, music is utilized for the exciting effect and anticipatory purpose.
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